Pathotypic diversity of Rhynchosporium secalis (Oudem) in Tunisia

Scald, caused by Rhynchosporium secalis (Oudem), is an important disease of barley in Tunisia particularly in northern, northwestern and central parts of the country where the climate is usually cold and wet during most of the barley growing season. Pathogenic variability of the barley scald pathogen in Tunisia was determined by testing the pathogenicity of 100 isolates from 5 different regions on 19 host differentials. Pathotypic diversity was high, with 93 R. secalis pathotypes identified on two differential sets (one comprising 9 and the other 10 barley lines) containing known resistance genes. A few pathotypes comprised 2% of the isolates; however, the majorities were represented by a single isolate. None of the differential lines was resistant to all isolates. The differential cultivar “Astrix” was the least compatible with the scald pathotypes followed by the differential cultivars “Atlas” and “Abyssinia”. Compatibility of the pathotypes on “Rihane” (69%) was close to that on “Osiris” (73%) and “La Mesita” (61%). None of the pathotypes was found in all the five regions of Tunisia surveyed. Some pathotypes were specific to a single region while others were found in several regions. The incidence of pathotypes varied considerably among regions, with region 3 (northwestern Tunisia) comprising the largest number of pathotypes. Virulent pathotypes were recovered in all regions but more pathotypic variability (44%) was observed in the semi-arid region 3. Differential cultivars allowed classification of R. secalis in four virulence groups. Canonical discriminant analysis showed no apparent association between virulence and geographical origin of the populations. Pathogenic variability in R. secalis in Tunisia was found not to be associated with geographical region, hence, the necessity for deployment of different resistance sources in major barley growing areas.Key words: Rhynchosporium secalis, barley, virulence groups, pathotypic variation

XANTHENE DYES SHELL FORMATION ONTO NANOSCALE KEPLERATE {MO132} SURFACE: NMR AND PHOTOPHYSICAL STUDIES

This work was supported by Russian Science Foundation: Project No.21-73-00311

First Molecular Epidemiological Study of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Libya

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. The disease is characterized by the formation of chronic skin lesions followed by permanent scars and deformation of the infected area. It is distributed in many tropical and subtropical countries with more than 2 million cases every year. During the past few years CL has emerged as a major public health problem in Libya. So far, diagnosis was based on clinical symptoms and microscopic observation of parasites. Disease outbreaks were not investigated and the causative leishmanial species of CL were not identified so far. Our study indicates the presence of two coexisting species: Leishmania major and Leishmania tropica. These results are crucial in order to provide accurate treatment, precise prognosis and appropriate public health control measures. The recent armed conflict in Libya that ended with the Gadhafi regime collapse on October 2011 has affected all aspects of the life in the country. In this study we discussed multiple risk factors that could be associated with this conflict and present major challenges that should be considered by local and national health authorities for evaluating the CL burden and highlighting priority actions for disease control

Meeting sustainable development goals via robotics and autonomous systems

Robotics and autonomous systems are reshaping the world, changing healthcare, food production and biodiversity management. While they will play a fundamental role in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals, associated opportunities and threats are yet to be considered systematically. We report on a horizon scan evaluating robotics and autonomous systems impact on all Sustainable Development Goals, involving 102 experts from around the world. Robotics and autonomous systems are likely to transform how the Sustainable Development Goals are achieved, through replacing and supporting human activities, fostering innovation, enhancing remote access and improving monitoring. Emerging threats relate to reinforcing inequalities, exacerbating environmental change, diverting resources from tried-and-tested solutions and reducing freedom and privacy through inadequate governance. Although predicting future impacts of robotics and autonomous systems on the Sustainable Development Goals is difficult, thoroughly examining technological developments early is essential to prevent unintended detrimental consequences. Additionally, robotics and autonomous systems should be considered explicitly when developing future iterations of the Sustainable Development Goals to avoid reversing progress or exacerbating inequalities

Meeting sustainable development goals via robotics and autonomous systems

Robotics and autonomous systems are reshaping the world, changing healthcare, food production and biodiversity management. While they will play a fundamental role in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals, associated opportunities and threats are yet to be considered systematically. We report on a horizon scan evaluating robotics and autonomous systems impact on all Sustainable Development Goals, involving 102 experts from around the world. Robotics and autonomous systems are likely to transform how the Sustainable Development Goals are achieved, through replacing and supporting human activities, fostering innovation, enhancing remote access and improving monitoring. Emerging threats relate to reinforcing inequalities, exacerbating environmental change, diverting resources from tried-and-tested solutions and reducing freedom and privacy through inadequate governance. Although predicting future impacts of robotics and autonomous systems on the Sustainable Development Goals is difficult, thoroughly examining technological developments early is essential to prevent unintended detrimental consequences. Additionally, robotics and autonomous systems should be considered explicitly when developing future iterations of the Sustainable Development Goals to avoid reversing progress or exacerbating inequalities

The financial development-environmental degradation nexus in the United Arab Emirates: the importance of growth, globalization and structural breaks

This article revisits the nexus between financial development and environmental degradation by incorporating economic growth, electricity consumption and economic globalization in the CO2 emissions function for the period 1975QI–2014QIV in the United Arab Emirates. We apply structural break and cointegration tests to examine unit root and cointegration between the variables. Further, the article also uses the Toda-Yamamoto causality test to investigate the causal relationship between the variables and tests the linkages of the robustness of causality by following the innovative accounting approach. Our empirical analysis shows cointegration between the series. Financial development increases CO2 emissions. Economic growth is positively linked with environmental degradation. Electricity consumption improves environmental quality. Economic globalization affects CO2 emissions negatively. The relationship between financial development and CO2 emissions is U-shaped and inverted N-shaped. Further, financial development leads to environmental degradation, and environmental degradation in turn leads to financial development in the Granger sense. © 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature